Journal
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH
Volume 18, Issue 12, Pages -Publisher
MDPI
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18126200
Keywords
sperm motility; sperm vitality; hyperactivation; acrosome integrity; vervet monkey; chacma baboon; rhesus monkey
Funding
- National Research Foundation through the Scarce Skills Masters Scholarship [UID: 89411]
- Thuthuka Funding Instrument [TTK13061319161]
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The study found that copper sulphate and cadmium chloride can inhibit sperm function in non-human primates, affecting sperm quality and fertilization capability.
In order to address the large percentage of unexplained male infertility in humans, more detailed investigations using sperm functional tests are needed to identify possible causes for compromised fertility. Since many environmental and lifestyle factors might be contributing to infertility, future studies aiming to elucidate the effect of such factors on male fertility will need the use of appropriate research models. The current study aimed to assess the effects of two heavy metals, namely copper sulphate, and cadmium chloride, on non-human primate (NHP) sperm function in order to establish the possibility of using these primate species as models for reproductive studies. Our combined results indicated that the functionality of NHP spermatozoa is inhibited by the two heavy metals investigated. After in vitro exposure, detrimental effects, and significant lowered values (p < 0.05) were obtained for sperm motility, viability and vitality, acrosome intactness, and hyperactivation. These metals, at the tested higher concentrations, therefore, have the ability to impair sperm quality thereby affecting sperm fertilizing capability in both humans and NHPs.
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